A pair of Motorola Droid Razr phones with upgraded screens will hit stores October 18, according to a Verizon press release. The phones are evolutions of the original Droid Razr and Droid Razr Maxx, with similar bodies and internals but higher-resolution screens, more robust battery lives, and access to Verizon's 4G LTE network.

The two phones come with dual-core Krait processors, 1GB of RAM, 8-megapixel cameras that can record 1080p video, and 4.7-inch, 720p-resolution screens (that still use PenTile pixel arrangements, like their predecessors). With a new 2,530mAh battery, the Razr HD boasts 16 hours of talk time, while the Razr Maxx HD's beefier 3,300mAh battery will get 21 hours.

Motorola and Google, now one and the same, announced the phones in September alongside assurances that the companies would work hard to keep the devices' software up to date. But the phones are actually launching with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, with a guarantee from Motorola that the phones will receive Android 4.1 Jelly Bean before the year is out. Motorola recently backed out of a commitment to upgrade the Atrix 4G to Ice Cream Sandwich by last quarter.

Verizon will price the Droid Razr HD at $199.99 and the Droid Razr Maxx HD at $299.99, both with two-year contracts.

Casey Johnston
Casey Johnston is the former Culture Editor at Ars Technica, and now does the occasional freelance story. She graduated from Columbia University with a degree in Applied Physics. Twitter@caseyjohnston